Djokovic edges Del Potro in a gladiatorial Wimbledon battle

But at the other end was a man who is tough as nails. Del Potro had to battle hard to save two more break points in the game, producing some gutsy tennis to remain on even terms at 3-3. Suddenly, a screamer of a backhand winner and a scrambling cross court winner off a drop shot gave Del Potro his first break points of the match.

And he drank like a man in a desert, who stumbled into an oasis after days on the sand. Del Potro struck a stinging backhand down the line winner to help himself to the elusive break. Quenched and energised, Del Potro seemed to be on a roll at 40-0 in the next game. But the Argentine contrived to lose four on the run to suddenly stare at another break.

The spirited Argentine though fought back to hold serve to 5-3, and it was a game that was worth its weight in gold for him. Serving for the set at 5-4, Del Potro exchanged drop shots with Djokovic to inch closer to the set. With ground strokes touching nearly 80 miles per hour, Del Potro did not lose too much time to seal the set and sound the bugle of resistance.

In a spot of bother again at 30-30 in the sixth game of the third set, Del Potro struck a scorching inside out forehand that reminded Djokovic of the power he had to deal with to reach the eleventh grand slam final of his career.

Emboldened by the difficult hold, Del Potro returned with aggression and Djokovic slumped to break point when he plonked a backhand into the net. Fighting toe to toe, Djokovic battled with intensity and power to hold off the advancing Del Potro and protect his fort after a probing seventh game.

At 0-30, 4-5 Del Potro chose just the perfect moment to produce a moment of Wimbledon magic. He retrieved a wide ball, from behind his hip – engineering an incredibly powerful flat forehand cross court winner that left both opponent and spectator gasping in awe. Riding a wave of confidence Del Potro won four in a row to hold tight and stay level.

The drama just got better when Del Potro was down 0-40 in the twelfth game. The Argentine showed immense character to prevent the Serbian from taking a two set lead, winning five in a row to force the tie-break.

But Del Potro confounded everyone when he made a mess of an easy point at 2-3 in the breaker – sending a smash at the net straight at the struggling Djokovic before dumping another overhead in the net to offer the first mini-break at 4-2.

It was a devastating miss and Del Potro never recovered, surrendering the set without winning another point. Djokovic sent a backhand winner to take the breaker before running inside for a change of clothes. It was that hot in Wimbledon and the physical struggle of this contest was only adding to the sweat and toil.

The restroom break also forced Del Potro to ruminate over the cost of that slip up a little longer, causing the gravity of the error to sink in and turn those lumbering legs heavier. Despite the setback, the gallant South American battled hard to keep it alive till 3-3 in the fourth set. The world No.1 though is nearly as relentless as Rafael Nadal might be on a pair of steady knees.

Del Potro wilted in the seventh game, when he fell to 15-40 finding the net with floundering forehand. Del Potro saved the first point with a fiery backhand volley, but embraced the net with his forehand again on the next point to offer a vital break to Djokovic.